MySmartPrice has introduced an offline price comparison service for mobile phones in Hyderabad and Secunderabad with plans to expand to other cities gradually. Tying with 300 physical stores like Sangeetha Mobiles and The Mobile Store among others, MySmartPrice will list prices of products from shops closest to a user’s location.

The app will let users search and compare discounts, prices and deals listed with these retailers. The company said that since the prices of phones varied significantly in offline stores and were dependent on bargains, this service would enable customers to make better informed decisions at the time of buying.

WhatsApp to get product details and prices

Sitakanta Ray, co-founder, MySmartPrice, had told Medianama last September that the majority of users on MySmartPrice compared prices on the app but bought products offline, leading to the development of the WhatsApp feature. The WhatsApp service was launched based on a non-official WhatsApp API from GitHub. Users needed to add +91-93322-22222 to their WhatsApp contact list. Messaging this number with the product name got replies of a list of prices for the product and other similar products. Note that this service is no longer available.

– PriceBabaextended its service to four new cities Chennai, Hyderabad, Baroda and Surat, adding to a total of 11 cities across India. The company, which claims to receive over 3.5 million users every month, also has a physical presence in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

– Quikr had also introduced an instant messaging service Quikr Nxt on its platform that allowed buyers and sellers to interact before the actual transaction. This essentially will allow also buyers to compare prices across stores.

Note:The article has been edited to inform that the Whatsapp-based price comparison service is no longer available.